Purdy's Wharf is an office complex in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Built over the water at the edge of

Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural har ...

and resting on

pilings A pile or piling is a vertical structural element of a deep foundation, driven or drilled deep into the ground at the building site. A deep foundation is a type of foundation that transfers building loads to the earth farther down from th ...

, it consists of two office towers, and a smaller office structure called Purdy's Landing. The complex is located along the Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk.

History

Planning

The complex was developed by J.W. Lindsay Enterprises, based in Dartmouth, which submitted a planning application on 13 July 1981 for the Purdy's Wharf development, to be constructed on the former Purdys Brothers lands as well as some land owned by the City of Halifax and the

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC; , SCHL) is Canada's federal crown corporation responsible for administering the ''National Housing Act'', with the mandate to improve housing and living conditions in the country.McAfee, Ann. 2013 ...

(CMHC). The development plan relied on the city and CMHC agreeing to sell these lands. A public hearing was held in relation to the Purdy's Wharf development on 7 October 1981. Halifax city council approved the proposal on 15 October 1981 as well as the sale of the city-owned lands, where the parking garage is now located. The development agreement between the developer and the city was further negotiated, and a revised agreement was approved by city council on 18 May 1983.

Construction and opening

The architect was Shore Tilbe Henschel Irwin Peters of Toronto, while the structural consultant was George Brandys and Associates Ltd., now known as BMR Structural Engineering, of Halifax. Construction began in 1983. The first phase of the development, the 18-storey Tower I, opened in May 1985. Built at a cost of around C$49 million, phase one also included a four-storey office building and a parking garage. In January 1987, the developers announced that a second phase would be built. Comprising a 22-storey, office tower and an expansion of the parking garage, the expansion was estimated to cost C$65 million. The same architecture firm was employed. The project was completed in 1989, coinciding with the beginning of the

early 1990s recession The early 1990s recession describes the period of economic downturn affecting much of the Western world in the early 1990s. The impacts of the recession contributed in part to the 1992 U.S. presidential election victory of Bill Clinton over incum ...

, which impacted the real estate market and contributed to the complex suffering from a 35.2 per cent vacancy rate in 1990.

Ownership

In January 1999,

Olympia and York Olympia & York (also spelled as Olympia and York, abbreviated as O&Y) was a major international property development firm based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The firm built major financial office complexes including Canary Wharf in London, the W ...

purchased a 47.5 per cent stake in the development for C$39.9 million. At that time, GWL Realty Advisors owned 47.5 per cent while J.W. Lindsay owned the remaining five per cent. In early 2000, J.W. Lindsay sold their share of the complex to the other two co-owners, which each increased their ownership to 50 per cent. In July 2005, Olympia and York sold their 50 per cent stake to GWL Realty Advisors for C$63.0 million.

Design

Purdy's Wharf consists of two office towers, a four-storey building called Purdy's Landing, a seven-storey

multistorey car park A multistorey car park (Commonwealth English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistorey, parking building, parking structure, parkade (Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck, or indoor parking, is a building designed fo ...

, and outdoor spaces including a wharf and green space. Purdy's Landing is commonly referred to as the "Xerox building", due to a large

Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (, ) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox was the pioneer of the photocopier market, beginning with the introduc ...

sign that used to hang on the exterior of the building.

Pedway Pedways (short for pedestrian walkways) are elevated or underground walkways, often connecting urban high-rises to each other, other buildings, or the street. They provide quick and comfortable movement from building to building, away from traff ...

s connect the complex to Casino Nova Scotia and the

Downtown Halifax Link The Downtown Halifax Link system is a network of climate-controlled pedways ( pedestrian tunnels and skywalks) connecting various office buildings, hotels, parkades, and entertainment venues around downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is simi ...

system. Purdy's Wharf has a unique, energy-efficient cooling system that works by circulating sea water through a

heat exchanger A heat exchanger is a system used to transfer heat between a source and a working fluid. Heat exchangers are used in both cooling and heating processes. The fluids may be separated by a solid wall to prevent mixing or they may be in direct contac ...

system with the building's cooling water. The colder sea water chills the building's cooling water, which is then circulated through the buildings.Seawater Cooling System for Buildings

''Natural Resources Canada: The Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE)''
Modified October 9, 2005; Retrieved June 3, 2008.

Transport

The complex is located within walking distance of the main

Halifax Transit Halifax Transit is a Canadian public transport service operating buses and ferries in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Founded as Metro Transit in March 1981, the agency runs two ferry routes, 66 conventional bus routes (including corridor, local, and expre ...

bus terminal, Scotia Square Terminal, via an enclosed footbridge spanning the former Cogswell Interchange. It is also a short walk from the Halifax Ferry Terminal.

References

External links

Purdy's WharfLive Webcam of Halifax Harbour with Purdy's WharfJW Lindsay Enterprises LimitedShore Tilbe Irwin & Partners
{{coord, 44, 39, 7.75, N, 63, 34, 27.54, W, region:CA, display=title 1985 establishments in Nova Scotia Office buildings completed in 1985 Buildings and structures in Halifax, Nova Scotia Postmodern architecture in Canada